William Oldham Mize has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving false insurance claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced today.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice ordered Mize to pay $6,657,209.00 in restitution to various insurance companies and $436,399.00 to the IRS.
The fraud scheme, which ran from 2013 to 2018, involved Mize orchestrating staged automobile and boat collisions, as well as fake home accidents, to file fraudulent insurance claims. These activities, spanning Washington and Nevada, generated over $6 million in ill-gotten proceeds.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized and forfeited more than $2 million in assets, including homes, cars, boats, and cash, which belonged to Mize and his co-conspirators.
Mize, who was indicted in January 2019, initially appeared in federal court before being released pending trial. However, he fled in July 2019, assuming various false identities to avoid capture. Authorities later tracked Mize to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was attempting to sell a yacht under a false identity.
On November 28, 2023, U.S. Marshals apprehended Mize at a marina in central Florida. He was subsequently transported back to Eastern Washington, where he has remained in custody.
“This elaborate fraud scheme not only caused financial harm to insurance companies but also increased costs for law-abiding citizens,” said Craig Thayer, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Washington. “The physical injuries from the staged collisions and the risk to public safety add another layer to this unconscionable crime.”
